The invention relates generally to accessories for firearms and in particular to a universal mount for a folding bayonet. The folding bayonet has been in use by the world's infantry forces since before World War II. More recently, although the bayonet is rarely used for its original purpose, a variety of other attachments have been developed for rifles and other long firearms used by infantry, special operations forces, and tactical police units. The attachments have included flashlights, lasers for sighting purposes, and bipods. Unfortunately, each of these attachments has been developed with its own mounting hardware, and few have been designed with the goal of rapidly affixing multiple attachments without using any tools.
Bayonet lug clamp and mounting assembly, U.S. Pat. No. 9,127,904 (priority May 31, 2000), provides a lug clamp and mount assembly for use with a rifle having a T-shaped bayonet lug, with slots formed in a central portion thereof. A housing is configured to slidingly engage the bayonet lug. A lever incorporating an accessory mounting rail is pivotally coupled to the housing for movement towards and away therefrom. A jaw is movably mounted in the housing and has teeth that are aligned with the slots in the bayonet lug when the housing is slid thereon. A piston/cylinder assembly is coupled to the lever and to the jaw. When the lever is pivoted towards the housing, with the teeth aligned with the slots in the bayonet lug, the piston/cylinder assembly presses the jaw against the bayonet lug as the teeth engage the slots.
Bayonet lug to picatinny rail adaptor, U.S. Pat. No. 6,385,892 (priority Jul. 11, 2013), provides an adaptor which allows accessories to be mounted to the bayonet lug rather than a Picatinny rail mounted to the hand guard of a rifle. The adaptor of the present invention allows accessories to be used while not interfering with the proper grip on the hand guard and without the need to replace the hand guard with one that has an integrated Picatinny rail.
Bayonet lug clamp, U.S. Pat. No. 6,289,621 (priority Oct. 20, 1999), provides a bayonet lug clamp with a housing opened on one end thereof for slidingly engaging the bayonet lug. A plate is mounted in the housing and opposes the bayonet lug as the housing is slid thereon. A screw passes through the housing to threadably engage the plate. Turning of the screw draws the plate against the bayonet lug.
Quick release mount for firearm aiming device, U.S. Pat. No. 4,571,870 (priority Oct. 24, 1983), provides a quick release mount for securing an aiming device, such as a laser, on the barrel of a rifle. The device includes a forward and rear mount, shiftably mounted on a base plate to which the aiming device is permanently secured. The forward mount includes a spring-loaded slide member slideably mounted on the base plate and a split ring secured to the slide member, which is sleeved over the barrel and biased into sliding engagement with a stop member on the barrel, such as a flame arrester. The rear mount includes a body member provided with slots and a locking mechanism for releasably receiving a shoe, which is permanently secured to the barrel.
Knife/bayonet device including rapid attachment, shoot through bayonet unit, U.S. Pat. No. 6,725,593 (priority Oct. 23, 2002), provides a knife/bayonet device which is useful as both a knife and as a bayonet adapted to be mounted on a barrel portion, e.g., muzzle brake, of a rifle having a groove therein. The device includes an integral knife/bayonet component including a hollow handle portion and a blade. The handle portion is adapted to fit onto the barrel portion of the rifle and includes a locking groove having an opening therein extending through the handle portion. A locking ring received in the locking groove includes a detent portion adapted to extend through the opening in the locking groove to engage in the groove in the barrel portion of the rifle and thereby secure the knife/bayonet component to the rifle. A multi-purpose butt cap is adapted to be received in one end of the handle portion, and a storage canister is adapted to be affixed to the butt cap.
Gun and hunting knife combination, U.S. Pat. No. 2,098,139 (priority Apr. 22, 1937), provides a combination wherein a hunting knife is carried within the confines of a gun stock for ready removal when desired for use. A bore or recess is drilled or otherwise provided longitudinally of a gun stock, being open at the butt end of the latter. A hunting knife is adapted to be removably disposed within the bore or recess. The free end of the blade is adapted to engage in the bifurcation well of a slidable follower of wood or any other suitable material with which the blade is adapted to contact to avoid injury or metal to metal contact. The follower is cushioned by an expansive coil spring which is fastened to the follower and to a disk, removably or permanently fastened in the bore as preferred.
Tactical knife, U.S. Patent App. Pub. No. US2010/0101095 (priority Mar. 16, 2007), provides a knife comprised of a handle and a blade. The blade may further be formed so as to include a sharp edge, a sharp serrated edge, a non-sharp serrated edge and a gut hook. In certain embodiments, the handle may house a light source so the knife may be used in poorly lit environments and/or in combination with a gun. A power source may be housed inside of the handle and the handle may also include a dome switch to operate the light source. Sufficient sealant is placed in strategic locations throughout the handle so as to make the knife of certain embodiments of the present invention water resistant.
Most of these inventions secure the bayonet or other accessory to the muzzle of the rifle with one or more clamps, which require a tool for removal. This creates a disadvantage, since the user may need to remove the bayonet or other accessory quickly or may not have the tool available. When crawling or walking under overhead obstructions such as barbed wire, underbrush or low-hanging branches, quick and effortless removal of such an accessory may be critical.
The present invention, which provides a quick release bayonet mount which does not require tools, and will accommodate other accessories such as a bipod or laser sight, resolves the disadvantages of the prior art and is not anticipated by the prior art. A universal mount for a folding bayonet, featuring locking side rails for additional attachments, would resolve this problem.